Improvement in elevatobs



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JAMES s. BALDWIN-3 0E NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.l

i Letters Patent No. 70,777, dated November 12, 1867v IMPROVEMENT ELEVATOBS.

TO ALL WHOM E.' MAY CONCERN:

Be vil; known 'that I, JAMES S. BALDWIN, of Newark, in the county of Essex, in ythe State of New Jersey, have inventeda new vand improved .Method of Constructing 'Elevators to be used for transporting passengers between the various floors of buildings and other structures; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, vmaking a part of this specification.

The elevators at present in useconsist o'f a suitable platform, moving between vertical slides, and operated by suitable mechanism,-\.and necessarily the platform so nearly lls the opening. throughwhich it passes a floor, that its edges, conjontly with those of the floor or landing, must exert a powerful shearing action upon-any body interposed between themwhile the .said platform is in motion, and seiious and even fatal injuries would result from a misstep or any other accident which should cause any portion of the human body to be thus interposed between the said edges. To render such accidents impossible, and to entend the field of usefulness of the said elevator, I propose to apply, both to the iioor or landing and to the platform of the elevator, a yielding edge 4or apron, in the manner shown in the annexed drawing, which shows the said platform and a portion of a' landing in section,.and perspective in'- Figure I, where both are represented as bisected.

Figure II is a single section in the same plane.

Like letters refer to like parts in each.

A A are the platform ofthe elevator, whichlmov'es on the slide S in the groove V V, the other slide and its groove being necessarily omitted. B is the apron, which is united to the platform by the hinges K K. The landing, 'a portion of which is shown at E,`is provided with a similar apron, joined to it by the hinges L L. The elevator receives its motion from a wire rope attached to the cross-beam T, or by other suitable mechanism.

Inasmuch as the hinges will allow a free upward movement of the aprons, as indicated by the dotted arcs, it is obvious that if any body is interposed between them, either while the platform is ascending or descending, the only result will be to raise one or the other of the aprons, which will return to its place when the obstacle is removed. And although the aprons may be made so light that no serious inconvenience need be experienced from this weight, yet I prefer to counterbalance them by the use of the weight G, or the spring H, Fig. II. The spring or springs being made of India rubber or coiled wire, a preponderance of two or three pounds being left in the apron to insure its return when released, and I believe that with a yielding edge, of the character hereinbeforc described, a serious accident cannot occur. As it is possible that in some rare cases a person' attempting to enter the elevator while it is in motion might fall backward, I employ in some cases the'v second platform F and its apron'D, arranged to receive the person so falling, thesaid secondary platform being of any desired width, and placed from three to five feet below the main ioor. It is obvious that if the aprons were not hinged, but consisted of brackets shaped like the pieces and B, rigidly attached to the platform and door respectively, and overlaid with alight door capable of being raised `or lifted from them, the same result would obtain, and I regard such a device, shown in cross-section in Figure III, as an equivalent of the above, as I also do the plan of suspending the" platform -by cords or rods from a bracket, as shown at-M N N,' Fig. II. In most cases I prefer to use the simple hinged apron.

' What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The use of the apron B and the apron C, or equivalent yielding edges, substantially as set forth. 2. The secondary platform F and its apron D.

3. The balancing ofsaid aprons in the manner sept forth.

JAMES S. BALDWIN. Witnesses:

S. BALDWIN,

L. A. Bs'LDWIN. 

